Apparatus for handling tubular fabric.



No. 769,648. A PATENTED SEPT. 6, 1904. O. W. GOVE. APPARATUS FORHANDLING TUBULAR FABRIC.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

HTIIHIII No. 769,648. PATENTED SEPT. 6, 1904. G. W. GOVE.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING TUBULAR FABRIC.

APYLIOATION FILED JAN. 2, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNiTep STATES Patented September 6, 1904.

ATENT OFFICE.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING TUBULAR FABRIC;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 769,648, datedSeptember 6, 1904. Application filed January 2, 1904. Serial No.187,536. No model.)

To all witmw it may calmer/L.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES \V. Govt a citizen of the United States,residing at Manchester, in the county of Hillsboro and State of NewHampshire, have invented an Improvement in Apparatus for HandlingTubular Fabric, of which the following description, in connection withthe accompanyingdrawings, is a specification, like characters on thedrawings representing like parts.

Knit fabric is made in great quantities in tubular form to besubsequently cut longitudinally and form a flat web from whichundergarments, &c., are made, and it is common practice to subject thefabric to various treatments while in tubular form that is, such fabricis washed, napped, and otherwise treatedand after one face of the tubehas been acted upon the tube is turned inside out to expose its otherface for treatment. In order to turn a long piece of tubular fabric, itis common practice to draw the same onto a tubular support or receiverby manual labor, the operatives drawing the fabric thereon and pushingit together until a tube of fabric many yards in length may be pushedand drawn onto a support fifteen or twenty feet long. \Vhen the fabrichas thus been fulled onto the receiver, it is drawn over one end of thelatter and pulled through it, thereby turning the tube of fabric insideout. The manual operation of drawing or fulling the fabric onto thereceiver is tedious and requires the operator or operators to pull on aquantity and then push the accumulated fabric along the receiver, thenpull on more and push it along, and so on, until the whole length of theweb is on the receiver.

My present invention has for its object the production of simple andeffective mechanism for rapidly and easily placing a tubular fabric orweb on a receiver of the character specified as a preparatory step toturning the web inside out.

As will be understood more fully hereinafter, my invention is notrestricted to handling knit or woven fabric in tubular form, as it isadapted to handle fabric of any character in tubular form which for anyreason must be turned inside out.

Inasmuch as the tubular web may be turned inside out by any suitablemeans, with which my invention has nothing to do, I have not illustratedany such means in the accompanying drawings.

The various novel features of my invention will be fully described inthe subjoined specification and particularly pointed out in thefollowing claims.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus for handling tubularfabric and embodying one form of my invention, the tubular webbeingshown in readiness to be applied to the apparatus, the drawingbeing broken out at the upper part to economize space. Fig. 2 is also aperspective view, on a smaller scale, of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1,but viewed from the back and disconnected from the receiver. Fig. 3 isan enlarged longitudinal section on the line 3 3, Fig. 1, through thecenter of the apparatus. Fig. 4: is a sectional view of a modificationof the web-feeding means to be described; and Fig. 5 is a sectionaldetail showing the boxes of the presser-rolls illustrated in Fig. 4:,said rolls being omitted, the means for connecting the spreader and itsbody with the swinging support being shown.

In Figs. 1 and 2 one end of the tubular receiver it is shown, saidreceiver being made, preferably, of metal and supported in any suitablemanner. Near one end of the receiver a frame A is secured to the floorof the room in which the apparatus is located, said frame having across-piece A on which is mounted the roll B of fabric to be treated,the tubular fabric or web being loosely rolled up for convenience inhandling, and the rod or cross-piece A is passed through the centerthereof and detachably connected with the frame A.

Referring to Fig. I, a swinging support comprising upright parallel sidepieces a and cross-bars 0 rigidly connecting them, is suspended frompivot-pins C, which for convenience may be secured to the ceiling of theroom, and when the apparatus is in operation the swinging supportdepends from its pivots in substantially vertical position, (see Fig.1,)

i with the lower ends of the uprights c resting rob against stopssecured to the floor. Atoggle connection is herein shown between theswinging support and the frame A and comprises an arm 0 fulcrumed at con the base of the frame A, and a crank-arm 0*, journaled in bearings 0on the uprights, the crank pass-' ing through a longitudinal slot 0 inthe arm 0 The latter arm at its free end is shown in Fig. 2 as providedwith laterally-extended lugs 0 for a purpose to be described.

A spring S is fastened at one end to the swinging support and at itsother end to any fixed object as, for instance, the floor. (See Fig. 2.)The spring normally tends to swing thelower end of the support towardthe frame; but when the toggle comprising the arm 0 and crank-arm 0 arestraightened, as shown in Fig. 1, the swinging support is moved into itsoperative position, with the lower ends of the uprights 0 against thestops 0, and at such time the lugs c on the arm 0 bear against the underside of the adjacent part of the crank arm, the toggle at such timebeing slightly beyond dead-center, the spring tendingto retain it insuch position. One of the journals of the crank arm 0 is extendedthrough its bearing 0 and has'secured to it a handle 0 by which thetoggle can be readily operated.

A spreader to enter and open or distend the tubular web,.so that thesame may be acted upon by suitable feeding means to be clescribed, isinterposed between the frame A and the nearer end of the receiverR and,with the feeding means, is mounted on the swinging support hereinbeforedescribed. The spreader proper is herein shown as an elongated box-likemember D, having'a tapered extremity (Z to enter and gradually distendor expand the web, the latter in Fig. 3 being indicated at WV bydot-and-dash lines. This spreader is secured to the front end of ahollow body D in any suitable manner, as by rivets 3, the body being cutaway to leave opposite openings, as D D Fig. 3, in its top and bottom,respectively. The sides of the body are parallel and practically form acontinuation of the side walls of the larger portion of the spreader,while from top to bottom the main portion of the body D is somewhat lessin height than the height of the spreader D. A coupling, herein shown asa cylindrical boss D is rigidly secured to the rear end of and projectsbeyond the body, the diameter of the boss being such that it will easilyenter the adjacent end of the receiver, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

Within the body two presser-rolls (Z d are shown, having particularreference to Fig. 3, their journals 20 and 30 being mounted in blocks 21and 31, respectively, slidable in fixed guides 22 32, secured to thesides of the body. (See Fig. 5.) A substantially crescent-shaped springS is rigidly secured to the inner end of the boss B the free ends of thespring bearing against the journal-blocks 21 31 to normally move therolls away from each other. As shown in Fig. 3, said presser-rolls arelocated adjacent the openings D?D and project part way through the same,while the i guides 22 and 32 limit such outward movement. l body D andpasses thence to the receiver the l presser-rolls bear upon the innerface of the fabric and maintain it pressed outward in frictionalengagement with feed-rolls F G, located above and below the body.

The shaft of the feed-roll F is mounted in bearings 8 on the uprightportions 0 of the swinging support and is extended at one side toreceive a pulley F. The feed-roll Gr has its shaft 9 extended beyond oneof its bearings 10, and a pulley G is secured thereto, and by referenceto Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that the pulleys are located at thesame side of the swinging support and substantially one above the other.An idler-pulley G is mounted on a stud 9 secured to one of the uprights0, and a driving-belt M, driven from any suitable source of power, (notherein shown,) is passed around the idler G and then up, over, andaround pulley F I and down and around pulley G and thence I up again toan overhead pulley or drum,which- I ever may be most convenient, bywhich movement is imparted to the belt. The direction of movement of thebelt and feed-rolls is shown by the arrows in Fig. 3, the feed-rolls Fand G rotating in opposite directions in such a way as to feed thefabric over the body D and onto the receiver.

In the operation of the machine, supposing the parts are to be in theposition shown in Fig. 1, the operator takes the free end of the tubularweb W opens it out and draws it onto the tapered end (Z of the spreaderand up over the main portion D thereof,.drawing l the thus-distendedfabric far enough to introduce the leading end thereof to the nip of thetwo pairs of rolls hereinbefore described. The belt M is then startedand the nip of the feed-rolls on the exterior face of the web is lmaintained by the yielding outward pressure I imparted to thepresser-rolls d d The feeding is effected with great rapidity anduniformity, the web piling up or fulling upon the receiver as it is fedthereonto, so that a web of many yards in -length can be quickly andeasily applied to the receiver. When a Web has thus been applied to thereceiver. the toggle c 0 is broken, as indicated in Fig. 2, so that thespringS will move the swinging support away from the receiver, therebydrawing the boss D out of the end of the receiver, as shown in Fig. 2.The fabric on the receiver can then be turned inside out in usualmanner.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 5, a shaft d 15 is extended through the body Dnear the inner end of the boss D, the opposite ends of the As thetubular web is fed over the shaft projecting beyond the body andentering holes in ears (Z secured to the uprights c of the swingingframe, to thereby connect the body and spreader to the support, whilepermitting a slight tipping movement of the body relatively thereto,which tipping movement is necessary when coupling or uncoupling the bodyand the receiver.

Instead of the feeding means shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 I may usespring-pressers in place of the presser-rollsd (Z and, referring to Fig.4:, I have shown spring-pressers a a mounted on the body and extendedacross the openings D D therein, said pressers acting upon the innerface of the fabric and pushing it outward into feeding engagement withthe upper and lower feed-rolls F Gr. The latter may be mounted andoperated substantially as in Fig. 2.

Horizontal bars it 71, Figs. 1 and 2, are secured in parallelism oneabove the other on standards lt rigidly secured to the swinging uprightsc c, said bars constituting a guide which is located in front of thetapered end of the spreader. The guide supports and directs the web asit passes from the roll B to the spreader.

My invention is not restricted to the precise construction andarrangement herein shown and described, as so far as I am aware it isbroadly new to feed a tubular fabric onto a receiver other than bydrawing and pushing the fabric onto the receiver by hand. Accordinglyvarious changes or modifications maybe made in the apparatus by thoseskilled in the 1 art without departing from the spirit and scope of myinvention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In apparatus of the class described, an elongated receiver for and tointernally sustain the web, a spreader located at one end of thereceiver to enter and open the tubular web, and fixedly-positioned meanslocated between the spreader and receiver to engage successive portionsof the web and feed the same longitudinally upon the receiver.

2. In apparatus of the class described, an

tain the web, a spreader located at one end of the receiver and having atapered nose, to enter and open the tubular web of fabric, andfixedly-positioned means located between the spreader and receiver toengage the web with rolling contact and feed the same longitudinallyupon the receiver.

3. In apparatus of the class described, an

elongated tubular receiver, aspreader located K at one end thereof toenter and open the tubular web, and means to engage the interior andexterior faces of the opened web and feed the same from the spreaderonto the receiver.

4. In apparatus of the class described, an

elongated tubular receiver, a spreader located at one end thereof toenter and open the tubular web, rotatable feed-rolls to engage theexterior of and feed the opened web onto the receiver, and means toyieldingly act upon the inner face of and press the web against thefeed-rolls.

5. In apparatus of the class described, an elongated receiver having atubular end, a spreader located at the tubular end thereof and having atapered nose, to enter and open the tubular web of fabric, andfixedly-positioned means located between the spreader and the adjacentend of the receiver to continuously engage and act upon successiveportions of the web on opposite sides of the spreader and feed the samelongitudinally upon the receiver.

6. In apparatus of the class described, an elongated tubular receiver, aspreader located at one end thereof and having a hollow body providedwith opposite openings, means within the body to engage and yieldinglypress the web outward, and rotatable feed-rolls located opposite saidmeans to engage and feed the web longitudinally onto the receiver.

7. In apparatus of the class described, a tubular receiver, a spreaderdetachably connected with one end thereof and having a hollow bodyprovided with opposite openings, positively-driven feed-rolls to engagethe exterior of the tubular web when drawn over the spreader and feedthe web onto the receiver, and means within the spreader-body to actthrough the openings thereof and press the web against the feed-rolls.

8. In apparatus of the class described, a stationary tubular receiver, aspreader to enter and open the tubular web and having a hollow bodyprovided with opposite openings, a swinging support for the spreader,means to connect the body thereof with the adjacent end of the receiver,feed-rolls to exteriorly engage the web and feed the same onto thereceiver, and yieldingly-controlled pressers within the body of thespreader to act internally upon the web through the openings in the bodyand press the web against the 'feed rolls.

9. In apparatus of the class described, an

elongated tubular recei ver,a tapering spreader elongated receiver forand to externally sus- 1 having a hollow body provided with oppositeopenings, presserrolls yieldingly mounted therein to project partlythrough said openings. and positively-driven feed-rolls mounted outsidethe body to cooperate with the presserrolls and thereby feed the tubularweb over the spreader and its body onto the receiver.

10. In apparatus of the class described, a tu bular receiver, a spreaderdetachably connected with one end thereof and having a hollow bodyprovided with opposite openings, a cylindrical boss on the body to enterthe adjacent end of the receiver, yielding pressers within the body andlocated opposite the openings therein, and feed-rolls outside of thebody to &

cooperate with the pressers and feed the tubular web over the spreaderand onto the receiver.

11. In apparatus of the class described, an elongated stationary,tubular receiver, a swinging support, a spreader mounted thereon andtapered to enter and open the web, means to connect the spreader and theadjacent end of the receiver, whereby the web can be moved over thespreader onto the receiver, and means mounted on the spreader-support toengage and feed the web onto the receiver.

12. In apparatus of the class described, an elongated stationary,tubular receiver, a swinging support, a spreader mounted thereon andtapered to enter and open the web, means to connect the spreader and theadjacent end of the receiver, whereby the web can be moved over thespreader onto the receiver, feed-rolls to engage the web internally andexternally between the spreader and receiver, means to positively driveone set of rolls, and yielding supporting means for the other set.

13. In apparatus of the class described, an elongated stationary,tubular receiver, a tapering spreader to enter and open the web andhaving a hollow body detachably connected with the receiver, andprovided with opposite openings, a stand in front of the spreader tosustain a roll of tubular fabric or Web, positively-driven feed-rolls toengage the web externally as it passes across the openings in the body,and yielding means within the latter to act upon the web through saidopenings and maintain said web in engagement with the feed-rolls.

14. In apparatus of the class described, an elongated tubular receiver,a spreader located at one end thereof to enter and open the tubular web,said spreader having a hollow body detachably connected with theadjacent end of the receiver and having upper and lower openings,freely-rotatable presser-rolls within the body and yieldingly supportedto project part way through the openings, and positively driven upperand -lower feed rolls mounted outside the body in cooperative relationwith said presser-rolls, the fabric being engaged by the two sets ofrolls and thereby drawn over the spreader and its body and fed onto thereceiver.

In testimony whereof I havesigned my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES W. GOVE.

Witnesses:

WM. N. JoHNsoN, EDWARD DoRsEY.

